Machine for handling clay pipe



Dec. 8, 1964 F. s. PEARNE ETAL 3,159,396

MACHINE FOR HANDLING CLAY PIPE Filed April 7, 1958 '7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 8, 1964 F. s. PEARNE ETAL MACHINE FOR HANDLING CLAY PIPE 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 7, 1958.

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MACHINE FOR HANDLING CLAY PIPE Filed April 7, 1958 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Dec. 8, 1964 Filed April 7, 1958 F. S. PEARNE ETAL MACHINE FOR HANDLING CLAY PIPE 93 Pub 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORS Frank S. Pea,rne

Florentin JPearne BY%/ ATTORNEYS Dec. 8, 1.964 F. s. PEARNE .ETAL 3,159,895

- MACHINE FDR HANDLING CLAY PIPE Filed April 7, 1958 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTORS Frank S. Pea'rne F Loren in .Pearne ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,159,896 MACIWE FOR LING CLAY PIPE Frank S. Poems and Florentin J. Pearne, Los Angeles, Calif., assignors to Pearne & Lacy Machine (Ionipany, Inc, Los Angeles, Calif, a corporation of California Fiied Apr. 7, 1953, Ser. No. 726,926 17 Claims. (Ci. 2539) This invention relates to machines for forming clay sewer pipe of relatively large dimensions and weight, for handling the same during finishing of the ends of the pipe, and for finally depositing the extruded and finished pipe at a receiving location remote from the extrusion press. In its preferred form, the invention involves mechanically removing the extruded pipe from the extrusion press and handling it through to the receiving location entirely mechanically and in timed relationship with the operation of the extrusion press. Although various emergency electrical controls are preferably provided whereby an operator may exercise complete control over the operation of each component of the machine and stop, start, or reverse the operation thereof as may be required to meet any contingency, the machine, in its preferred form, is largely or completely automatic and requires the attention of but a single operator.-

Until recent years, the clay pipe industry depended largely upon manual labor for removing extruded pipe from the press and handling the same during finishing of the spigot and belled ends of the pipe. To a considerable degree, this manual labor has now been dispensed with in the manufacture of clay pipe of moderate dimensions, up to diameters of 12 to 15 inches or so. The most successful, high speed machines and methods devised for this purpose have involved automatic horizontal extrusion presses with which automatic off-bearing and finishing equipment has been associated to handle and finish the pipe while conveying it from the press to a location where the finished green clay pipe is delivered standing on its spigot end on a pallet for removal to a drying room. Examples of such a high speed machine and method are described and claimed in US. Patents 2,795,027 and 2,795,028 granted June 11, 1957, to John D. Rossier.

However, developments in sewage systems have created a need for much larger diameter pipe than can readily be produced by the high speed horizontal extrusion machines and methods referred to. Pipe from 15 to 27 inches in diameter and up to 4 feet in length are in widespread use and diameters up to 39 inches in lengths up to 5 feet are commonly required. The green clay extrusions of these larger sizes Weigh up to around 3000 pounds. Obviously, manual handling of such large size extrusions is slow, cumbersome, unreliable, and even dangerous; and expeditious handling of such largesizes by machinery requires strong, massive equipment operating with a high degree of precision. The problems involved in designing machines for this purpose are rendered more difiicult by the fragile nature of the green clay extrusions. They must not be subjected to large forces in any direction. In particular, large radial forces on the body or hell of the pipe and axial forces :on the bell of the pipe must be avoided. I

Pipe of such large size has generally been successfully extruded only with vertical presses which extrude the pipe belled end foremost in a downward direction while supporting the weight of the extrusion on a former that is seated in the bell of the extrusion and is carried by a scale rod that descends with the extrusion as it emerges from the die of the press. When the extrusion is completed, severed from the clay in the press, and lowered clear of the die of the press, the extrusion must be sup- "ice ported while the former on the scale rod is withdrawn from the bell to free the extrusion for removal from the press. Then, without resting the extrusion on its lowermost belled end or radially crushing it while embracing it about its girth, the extrusion must have its spigot end cut to exact length and both of its ends grooved and finished, whereupon it must be deposited spigot end down upon a suitable support, such as a movable pallet, for storage in a drying room before being fired in a kiln.

The general object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved machine for handling green clay extrusions, such as pipe and the like, from an extrusion press through the trimming and finishing stations to the receiving station, and for delivering the green clay extrusion to the receiving station while it is resting spigot end down on a pallet or the like.

More particularly, the objects of the invention are to provide such a machine which is adapted to handle large, heavy, and fragile, green clay extrusions safely, rapidly, and with a high degree of precision; to provide such a machine which is readily adapted for automatic operation to any desired degree; to provide a system of automatic controls for such a machine and, in addition, to render such controls adaptable for complete manual control of the machine as may be required to meet any contingency; to provide a machine and controls of the foregoing character which are especially adapted for receiving and handling green clay extrusions of large belled pipe from a vertical extrusion press; and to provide a combination of a vertical extrusion press and a machine of the foregoing character having a novel and improved cooperative relationship especially adapted for forming and handling green clay extrusions in the form of large belled pipe.

The foregoing objects are accomplished by the present invention by lowering the extrusion clear of the press while supporting it upon a former carried by a scale rod, and then embracing the extrusion about its periphery to sup port the same so that the former may be withdrawn clear of the extrusion; then, while so supporting the extrusion, moving it horizontally to a first finishing station for finishing one or both ends thereof, moving it horizontally to a subsequent station, reversing it end for end while or after being moved to said subsequent station, and depositing it on a supporting surface, such as a pallet; finishing the bell end of the extrusion after it arrives in its reversed condition at said subsequent station (if not performed cludes, in combination with an extrusion press, a base defining an elongated horizontal path leading from adjacent the press to a finished extrusion receiving location at a remote point, a carriage mounted for reversible travel along the path between the press and the remote point; a 7

frame rotatably mounted on the carriage, and a pair of reversibly contractible grips mounted on the frame, the

axis of rotation of the frame being disposed for reversing the extrusion end-for-end while it is embraced by the grips. Thus, the carriage may be moved to the press and the grips contracted to embrace and support the extrusion. Thereupon, the extrusion may be carried by the carriage from station to station, the frame, grips, and extrusion being rotatable on the carriage to reverse the extrusion end-for-end to facilitate the finishing operation and to deposit it spigot end down on a support. Preferably, at the end of the base remote from the press, a conveyor mechanism is located to receive the extrusions one by one as they are delivered to that point by the carriage. Each extrusion,

during :and/ or after the final finishing operation, is supported on this conveyor mechanism so as to permit release of the grips and return of the carriage to the press for receiving another extrusion. The conveyor mechanism also may serve to convey the finished extrusions one by one to the finished extrusion receiving station.

The apparatus for carrying out the foregoing operations will be more fully explained herein with reference to an illustrative machine shown in the accompanying drawings. Referring to these drawings FIGURE 1 is a largely diagrammatic side elevation of a machine for carrying out the invention, including a vertical extrusion press (fragmentarily shown) and associated equipment for receiving extrusions from the press and handling and moving them through the finishing operations to the finished extrusion receiving location remote from the press.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary, side elevation of the lower end of the scale rod of the extrusion press of FIG. 1 and of an associated pneumatic piston ram and cylinder mechanism for stopping the downward movement of the scale rod and for positioning it vertically for removal of a pipe extrusion supported by the former thereon.

FIG.v 3 is a fragmentary plan view of the equipment associated with the extrusion press in FIG. 1 for receiving pipe extrusions from the press and handling them and moving them through the finishing operations 'to the finished extrusion receiving location remote from the press.

FIG. 4 is another fragmentary plan view of the equipment associated with the extrusion press in FIG. 1 and showing the portion thereof omitted from FIG. 3. FIG. 5 is a side elevation of the equipment of FIG. 3, a pair of rotary finishing heads for respectively finishing the spigot and bell ends of a pipe extrusion also being shown, but somewhat diagrammatically, to indicate their use in combination with the pipe handling and moving equipment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is an. enlarged side elevation of a mechanism for raising and lowering a platform elevator forming a part of the equipmentof FIGS. 3 and 5.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged, fragmentary, vertical section through the pipe supporting and turning mechanism forming a part of the equipment of FIGS. 3 and S, the section being taken as indicated by the line 7-7 in FIG. 5.

FIG.'8 is an enlarged side elevation, partly broken away, of the pipe engaging face of one of the pair of pipe gripping vacuum trays forming a part of the equipment of FIGS. 3, 5 and 7, the. view being taken as indicated by the line 8-8 in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a further enlarged, fragmentary, vertical section of the structure for applying a vacuum to a pipegripping vacuum tray forming a part of the equipment of FIGS. 3, 5, and 7, the section being taken as indicated by the line 9-9 in FIG. 7.

FIG. 10 is partly an end elevation and partly a transverse vertical section of the equipment of FIGS. '3, 4, and 5, the view being taken as indicated by the line 1ti-16 in FIG. 5, but with certain parts broken away to show their interior construction.

FIG. 11 is an electrical wiring diagram for a control system for manually energizing in any desired sequence, or for. largely or entirely automatically energizing in a predetermined sequence, a group of valve-actuating solenoids so as to apply hydraulic or pneumatic power to operate the various parts of the machine.

FIG. 12 is a flow sheetfor a hydraulic and pneumatic system forsupplying hydraulic fluid, compressed air, or vacuum to the valves actuated by the solenoids of FIG. 11.

Referring first to FIG. 1, a vertical extrusion press A for use inaccordance with the invention may be of any conventional design in which green clay fed to the press .is first extruded downwardly into a bell'mold 1 in which the bell of apipe is formed. During this stage of the operation of the press, a former 2 mounted on a scale rod 3 projects into and closes the mouth of the mold (as shown in phantom outline), where it also serves as a mold core during formation of the bell end ofa pipe. When the mold is full, the scale rod is lowered while the extrusion of clay from the press continues in order to form the body. of the pipe as the clay passes through an annular die (not shown) immediately behind (above) the throat of the bell mold 1. During formation of the body of the pipe, the downwardly moving former 2 remains within the bell of the pipe and supports most of the weight of the clay as the pipe moves downwardly out of the mold. When the pipe has been formed to its full rough length, downward movement of the former 2 and extrusion of clay from the press are halted while a knife mechanism (not shown), conventionallybuilt into the press at the throat-of the mold, severs the pipe extrusion from the clay within the press so that the completed extrusion is freed from the press and supported entirely by the former 2. Downward movement of the former then continues until the completed extrusion reaches a removal location (as shown in phantom outline) with its upper end below and clear of the mold 1, whereupon downward movement of the former is again halted.

A positive drive mechanism, generally designated 4, is provided for driving the scale rod 3 upwardly, as needed, in order to commence the next extruding operation, and a brake (not shown), which may be built into the drive mechanism 4, is provided for holding back the downward movement of the scale rod and for supporting the weight of the extrusion as described above, the brake being aided in this by a counterweight 5. Any of a variety of operational techniques and controls may be used to control the length of the extrusion by starting and stopping the extrusion of clay from the press and the movement of the scale rod. Up to this point, the described structure and operation of the press A may be entirely conventional and require no more detail description or illustration.

A pipe removing and handling mechanism is disposed adjacent the press A for receiving completed extrusions oneby one from the press. This mechanism, in the illustrated form of the invention, may comprise an elongated base or frame B (FIGS. 1, 3, 5, and 10) having its horizontal, longitudinal center line L (FIG. 3) disposed to intersect the vertical center line L of the press and of the extrusions as formed thereon. The base B provides an elongated horizontal path for a carriage C (FIGS. 3 and 6) mounted for travel back and forth along the path between a location at one end adjacent the press A (Station No. 1, FIG. 1) and an extreme location adjacent the opposite end of the base B (Station No. 3, FIG. 1). The carriage C is provided with a pipe embracing, supporting, and rotating mechanism including a pair of rotatable gripsor vacuum trays T. The rotatable vacuum trays T are normally positioned on the carriage C for embracing a completed pipe extrusion while it is supported at Station No. 1 below the press on the former 2, as described above. As soon as the pipe is so embraced and supported by the trays T the scale rod 3 is lowered further until 7 the former is withdrawn from the bell of the pipe to a level below thelowerend of the bell, thus leaving the pipe free from the former for horizontal movement on the carriage C as the carriage is moved along the base B.

The carriage C is' then moved along the base B to a finishing location below any desired type of spigot finishing machine F, located at a Station No. 2 for finishing and externally scoring the spigot end of the pipe in a conventional manner, while also trimming this end of the pipe to length. When the spigot end of the pipe has been trimmed and finished, the carriage C is then moved further along the base B to a final finishing location below any desired type of hell finishing machine F, located at Station No- 3 for finishing and internally scoring the bell flange of the pipe. The finishing machines F and F may be of any desired automatic or semi-automatic type or may be dispensed with entirely in favor of hand finishing at Stations No. 2 and No. 3. Either just before or in the course of moving to the final finishing location (Station No. 3), or after arriving at this station, the trays T are rotated 186 to invert the pipe held thereby to dispose the bell end of the pipe uppermost for engagement by the finishing machine F.

The finishing of the bell end of the pipe may be performed while the pipe is still held by the trays T. Preferably, however, an elevator E, disposed beneath the second finishing station and equipped with power driven conveyor rollers, is raised to support the pipe on a pallet that has been prepositioned on the elevator E for this purpose. Upon arrival at the final finishing location (Station No. 3), and after being inverted to dispose its bell end uppermost and its spigot end lowermost, the pipe is supported by raising the elevator E until the pallet thereon engages the spigot end of the pipe. Thereupon, the trays .Tare moved outwardly to free the pipe, and the carriage C is returned toward the press for receiving another pipe extrusion. The second finishing operation may then be performed on the bell end of the pipe while it is resting spigot end down on the pallet on the elevator E.

A pallet storage magazine and feeding mechanism P may be disposed to one side of the elevator E for feeding pallets one at a time onto the elevator into the position at Station No. 3 shown in phantom outline in FIG. 5.

When the second finishing operation has been completed the elevator E is raised or lowered as may be required to align the conveyor rollers of the elevator with similar rollers of an oil-bearing conveyor G. Thereupon, the elevator rolls are driven to move the pallet and finished pipe extrusion supported thereby onto the ofi-bearing conveyor G, which may also be powered, if desired, to deliver the finished pipe extrusion to a remote receiving station. For the purposes of the present invention, however, the oil-bearing conveyor G may be considered as the remote receiving station, and the objects of the invention may be considered completed when the extrusion reaches this location (Station No. 4, FIG. 1).

With the foregoing introduction describing the general operation of the method and apparatus of the invention, the following detailed description of an illustrative form of apparatus will be more readily understood. The principal mechanical parts of the apparatus will now be described, and thereafter an illustrative system for controlling the operation, either manually or largely or entirely automatically, will be described.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, FIG. 1 shows the scale rod 3 of the press 1 in phantom outline in its uppermost position in which the former 2 is disposed in the mouth of the mold at the beginning of a pipe extrusion. The scale rod 3 is also shown in solid outline in its lowermost position with the former 2 withdrawn from the rough extrusion to free it for removal from the press A. In this latter position, the lower end of the scale rod engages and rests upon the upper end or head 6 of a pneumaticallly controlled ram 7 that has been fully retracted into an air cylinder 8.

FIG. 2 shows an intermediate location on the scale rod 3 in which the lower end of the scale rod has first engaged and rests upon the head 6 of the ram 7, the ram 7 being in its uppermost position and held there by air pressure in the cylinder 8. When the scale rod drops into engagement with the head 6 of the ram 7, the former 2 is still within the bell of a completed, rough pipe extrusion, and the pipe extrusion is supported by the former in the position at Station No. 1 shown in phantom outline in FIG. 1, this being hereinafter referred to as a removal position of the pipe on the press. The elevation of the pipe when in this removal position may be accurately regulated according to the length of the pipe extrusion by adjusting the height of the head 6 on the ram 7. For this purpose, the head 6 is secured on the upper end of a rod 9 that is threaded into the ram body for substantial vertical adjustment. A lock nut 10 may be provided on the 6. rod 9 for locking it when the ram head 6 is at the desired height for accurately positioning a pipe extrusion at a predetermined elevation for removal from the press. The lowermost position of the head 6 in FIG. 1 is shown in phantom outline in FIG. 2.

While the scale rod 3 is being lowered from its uppermost position during the formation of a pipe extrusion, and until the rough extrusion is severed from the press and lowered to its removal position, the lower end of the scale rod is spaced above and out of engagement with the head 6 of the ram 7. Upon reaching its pipe removal position, the scale rod 3 engages the head 6 of the ram 7 for stopping downward movement of the scale rod and pipe extrusion, at which time movement of the carriage C toward the pipe may be initiated as hereinafter described. The momentum of the heavy scale rod and former and of the heavy pipe extrusion cannot be safely overcome instantly, and the air in the cylinder 8 provides a cushion for stopping downward movement of the scale rod. The cushioning action of the compressed air in the air cylinder 8 permits the ram 7 to be momentarily forced downwardly below its fully extended pipe removal position, but the initial air pressure in the cylinder may be such as to quickly return the ram to its fully extended position. Air pressure for this purpose may be supplied from any convenient source (not shown) to the cylinder 8 through a compressed air conduit 13 having a solenoid control valve 14 and a check valve 15 interposed therein as shown. Air may be exhausted from the cylinder 8, when retraction of the ram is desired, through an exhaust conduit 16 having another solenoid controlled valve 17 interposed therein.

The fully extended height of the ram 7 is adjusted according to the length of pipe to be extruded so that the downwardly moving pipe extrusion, supported on the former 2, may be stopped and accurately positioned at a predetermined elevation for removal from the press 1 by the gripping mechanism to be described. After the pipe has been gripped and supported at Station No. 1 by the gripping mechanism, exhaust valve 17 is opened, permitting the ram 7 to retract and the scale rod 3 to drop so as to withdraw the former 2 from the bell end of the pipe, leaving the pipe free for horizontal travel with the gripping mechanism to Station No. 2.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 5, the equipment for receiving the pipe from the press 1 is shown with the pipe gripping mechanism disposed at Station No. 1 in gripping relationship with a rough pipe extrusion section S, which is still coaxially disposed on the vertical center line L of the press in the pipe removal position. The equipment shown in FIGS. 3 and 5 includes any suitable structural framework forming the elongated base B. A pair of tracks 20 may extend longitudinally of the base B along the upper side edges thereof so as to support the carriage C and define its path of travel. The carriage C may comprise a pair of parallel beams 21 extending longitudinally of the base B above the respective tracks 20, each beam being supported on its track for horizontal travel therealong by a pair of double-flanged wheels 22.

Essentially, each wheel supported beam 21 is a monorail truck running on its own track. These monorail trucks may be tied together into a unitary carriage by a mechanism which serves to support a pair of vacuum trays T and to actuate them as hereinafter described. This latter mechanism may comprise a pair of coaxial, substantially identical trunnions, generally designated 24 and 25,

journaled respectively in suitably enlarged portions of the carriage beams 21. The trunnions 24 and 25, which are axially extensible and retractable, as hereinafter described, project inwardly from the carriage beams 21 to support the vacuum trays T for movement toward and away from each other and also for rotation together about the common axis of the trunnions. The trunnions are also rigidly tied to each other for rotation together by means of a yoke structure 26.

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Referring toFIG. 7, the trunnion 2.4 may comprise a main supporting shaft 27 in the form of a heavy tube rotatably mounted in the enlarged portion of its carriage beam 21. This trunnion 24 dilfers from its companion trunnion 25 only till that the former has a pinion mounted thereon for rotating it about its axis, as hereinafter described. The main trurmion shaft 27 is rigidly connected to one end of the yoke structure 26 by a collar 29 that may be welded to the shaft 27 and removably secured tothe yoke 26 by bolts 35).

The outer end of the trunnion may be closed by a cap 32 threaded thereon. This cap 32 has one end of a hollow piston rod 33 threaded into an enlarged central boss on the cap, through which ,a compressed air conduit projects in sealed relationship therewith. This conduit 34 extends into and completely through the bore of the piston rod 33. A second compressed air conduit 35 is connected to the cap 32 for communication through a passageway 35a in the cap and through the wall of the piston rod 33 into the space therein surrounding the conduit 34. This space comunicates at its opposite end through a radial passageway 35b in the wall of the piston rod with a pressure chamber as (small when the trunnion is extended as shown) located immediately a piston head 37 forming the inner end wall there The piston headfi'i has a central aperture therethrough and is rigidly connected to the inner end of the piston rod 33 so that air introduced through the air conduit .34 will pass through the piston head into the central space therebeyond which serves as a pressure chamber 33 for extending the trunnion.

An inner sleeve 46 projects into the inner open end of the hollow main shaft 27 of the, trunnion for axial sliding therein and is held against rotation relative thereto by key 41 that is secured in a fixed location on the sleeve and is slidable along a key-way 42 cut longitudinally into the inner surface of the shaft 27. The end of the sleeve within the shaft 27 slidably receives the piston head 37 and is closed about the piston rod 33 by a gland 43 that is threaded into the sleeve 4t) and is longitudinally slidable on the piston rod with a seal therebetween so as to close the outer end of the pressure chamber 36 while sliding along the piston rod to retract the trunnion. The inner end of the central pressure chamber 38 is closed by a disk 44 welded in place in the sleeve 40. Thus, the piston head 37 serves as a double actin stationary piston that is slidable back and forth in the movable sleeve in response to pressure alternatively applied to the pressure chambers 36 and $8 at opposite ends of the piston head.

As will now be apparent, the sleeve 4 may be moved further into the shaft 27 forretracting the trunnion by introducing air under pressure through the conduit and passageway 35a into the piston rod 33, then through the piston rod 33 and passageway 33!) into the pressure chamber 36. Reverse movement of the sleeve 4% for extending the trunnion may be effected by introducing air under pressure through the conduit 34 and the central opening in the piston head 37 into the pressure chamber 38. A port 45 in the trunnion shaft 27 adjacent the cap 32 permits air to flow freely into and out of the chamber 46 in the trunnion shaft 27 to accommodate the resultant changes :in the volume of thischamber as the gland 43 moves back and forth on the piston rod 33.

A vacuum tray T is supported inwardly from the inner end of the movable sleeve 4% by asecond smaller diameter sleeve 47 having an end portion of reduced diameter telescoped within the lzuger sleeve 4t). A key or pin 43 on the inner end of the larger sleeve 45} may enter a notch in the inner sleeve 47 in the larger diameter portion thereof to restrain relative rotation of the two telescoped sleeves; and a set screw 49 in the sleeve 4% may be use to hold the two sleeves in their telescoped relationship.

The opposite, larger diameter end of the inner sleeve 47 may have a flange 51 welded thereto for supporting the tray T by means of a plurality of bolts 52. The spacing of the trays T to adjust the mechanism to handle pipe of a substantial range of diameters may readily be varied by substituting longer or shorter sleeves 47 for those shown in the drawings.

Referring to FIGS. 7, 8, and 9, the tray T may suitably comprise a cylindrically curved plate 53 (cf. FIG. 3) having a pair of vacuum conduit nipples 54- welded thereto in communication with respectively aligned vacuum ports 55 through the plate. The nipples 54 project through horizontally elongated apertures 56 (FIG. 9) in a supporting bar or block 57, and nuts 58 and washers 59 are applied to the nipples for firmly clamping the tray in an adjusted position relative to the block 57. Both horizontal adjustment of the tray relative to the block 57 and rotary adjustment about the axis of the trunnions 2d and 25 may be required for aligning the tray on each trunnion relative to the common axis of the press and pipe extrusion to be gripped. For this purpose, pairs of set screws 61 are respectively threaded into the block 57 from opposite sides thereof and into engagement with opposite'sides of the nipples 54. Horizontal adjustment of the tray relative to the block 57 may be effected by loosening the set screws 61 on one side and tightening those on the other, before tightening the nuts 53 to finally secure the plate 53 in its adjusted position; Rotary adjustment may be effected by loosening one pair of diagonally related screw 61 and tightening the other diagonally related pair of screws 61.

The inner cylindrical surface of each tray plate 53 may have a multiplicity of 'small, solid, rubber sheets 62 of various configurations cemented thereto in spaced apart relationship to define a network of passageways 63 therebetween, and also an outer surrounding sheet 64 of solid rubber to define a continuous passageway 65. The various passageways communicate with each other and with the vacuum ports 55 in the tray plate 53, as shown in FIG. 8. A layer 66 of open cell sponge rubber (FIG. 7) having an impervious rind about its peripheral edge is then cemented to the solid rubber sheets 62 and 64 over the entire surfaces of the solid rubber sheets so as to place the multitude of openings distributed over the exposed cylindrical face 67 of the sponge rubber layer in communication with the network of passageways 63 and 65 and through these passageways with the vacuum ports 55 of the tray.

Thus, when the two trays T are moved toward each other to place the cylindrical sponge rubber surfaces of the trays in snug contact with the outer surface of a pipe extrusion, as best shown in FIG. 3, the application of vacuum to the nipples 54 will cause a vacuum to be created throughout the passageways 63 and 65 and throughout the communicating cells of the sponge rubber layer 66 to the multiplicity of openings in the cylindrical face 67 thereof. The suction thus created at the engaged surface of the green clay pipe extrusion provides a substantial gripping action whereby a green clay pipe extrusion may be readily and securely held by the trays T without applying radial pressure to the extrusion by the trunnions 24, which pressure would tend to collapse the fragile extrusion. As a result, the pressures required to extend the trunnions for gripping a pipe and holdthem in firm engagement therewith need be only great enough to extend the trunnions against the friction in the pneumatic trunnion mechanism and apply a light radial pressure on the pipe extrusion to conform the sponge rubber layer as thereto. i

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 5, vacuum may be applied to the two nipples 54 of each tray T through a pair of flexible hoses 69 connecting the nipples to the upper and lower branches of a four-Way fitting 79. The two fittings 7il may be placed in communication with each other by a conduit 71 mounted on the yoke structure 26 and connecting horizontal branches of the two fittings '7 0. Thus, vacuum in each of the trays T may be created by applying the vacuum to the fourth branch of either of 9 the fittings 70 while plugging the fourth branch of the other. For this purpose and in order to accommodate travel of the carriage C along the base, another flexible hose 72 may extend with some slack from one of the fittings 7d upwardly to any convenient suspension point (not shown) above the center of the base B and thence through a suitable valve to a source of vacuum, described hereinafter.

Air pressure may be supplied to the conduits 34 and 35 of each trunnion, for extending and retracting the same, by means of a pair of flexible hoses '74 and- 75. These hoses 74 and 75 may similarly extend with slack from the trunnion conduits 34 and 35 to a convenient suspension point above the base B and thence through a suitable selector valve (described hereinafter) to any convenient source of air pressure for selectively supplying compressed air to the hoses 74 While venting the hoses 75, or vice versa.

The vacuum hose 72 and the air hoses 74 and 75 are connected, as described, with sufiicient slack to permit the trunnions 24 to be oscillated 180 about their common axis for inverting a pipe extrusion carried by the trays during travel of the carriage from Station No. 2 to Station No. 3, and for reverse rotation of the trunnions to reorient the trays during travel of the carriage in the opposite direction from Station No. 3 to a rest position adjacent Station No. 1 prior to receiving the next pipe extrusion from the press A.

Referring to FIGS. 3, 5, and 7, the trunnions and the trays carried thereby are rotated by a mechanism comprising the pinion 28 on the trunnion '24, a rack 73 mounted for longitudinal movement on the carriage C while in engagement with the pinion 2S, and a piston and cylinder mechanism 79 mounted on the carriage for reciprocating the rack 78 and driving the pinion 28. A connection 853 between the rack and a piston rod may be of any desired type and any suitable guide 31 for the rack (FIG. 5) may be mounted on the carriage to support the rack in alignment with its actuating cylinder and to hold the rack in driving engagement With the pinion 28.

When the carriage C has been moved along the base B to position the trays for gripping a pipe extrusion at Station No. 1, air pressure is applied to the hoses 74 while venting the hoses 75 for extending the trunnion mechanisms 24 and 25 to cause the trays T to embrace and remain lightly urged against the pipe supported by the former 2 on the press A. As stated above, such movement of the carriage is initiated when the downwardly moving scale rod 3 has come into engagement with the ram head 6 to position the pipe for removal. When the trays T have been moved into embracing engagement with the pipe, vacuum is applied to the trays through the hose 72., whereupon exhaust valve 17 (FIG. 2) is opened, permitting the ram 7 to retract and the scale rod 3 to drop so as to withdraw the former 2 from the bell end of the pipe and leave the pipe free for horizontal travel with the carriage C to Station No. 2, Where the carriage is stopped.

Finishing of the spigot end of the pipe at Station No. 2 may be performed by hand or by lowering a finishing head F into engagement with the pipe while the pipe is being held by the gripping mechanism on the carriage C. After the spigot end of the pipe is finished at Station No. 2, the carriage is moved to Station No. 3 where finishing of the bell end of the pipe takes place.

Upon arrival of the carriage at Station No. 3, or preferably during travel of the carriage to Station No. 3, bydraulic fluid under pressure is supplied from a reservoir through a conduit 82, while venting a similar conduit 83 back to the reservoir, for extending the piston and cylinder mechanism 79. This causes the rack '78 to drive the pinion 28 and rotate the above described pipe-gripping and supporting mechanism counter-clockwise as viewed in FIG. 5. The stroke of the piston and cylinder mechanism 79 is adjusted so that the angle of such rotation is 180 and the pipe is disposed bell end uppermost at Station No. 3. The pressure of hydraulic fluid in the conduit 82 is maintained to lock the gripping mechanism in its inverted position. a

Finishing of the bell end of the pipe is performed at Station No. 3, during which operation the pipe may be supported spigot end down on a pallet that has been pre-' positioned on the elevator E, as noted above, thus permitting the pipe to be released by the trays T and the carriage to be returned toward Station No. 1 for receiving another pipe. Release of a pipe at Station No. 3 is accomplished by cutting off the vacuum to the trays T, supplying air under pressure to the flexible hoses 75, andsimultaneously venting the flexible hoses 74, whereby the trays T are moved apart by retraction of their supporting trunnions 24 and 25. Thereupon, the carriage C is preferably moved along the base B back toward, but short of Station No. 1 to an arbitrarily selected rest or idle position, ready for subsequent movement to Station No. 1 upon completion of the next extrusion. However, if the next extrusion is ready and waiting as the carriage is moving back toward the idle position, it may continue on to the pipe receiving position without stopping at the idle position. Movement of the carriage from Station No. 3 back toward the rest position of the carriage is accompanied by switching fluid pressure from the hose 82 to the hose 83, while venting hose 82 back to the reservoir, for retracting the piston and cylinder mechanism v79 and locking it in a fully retracted condition. This reverses the prior rotation of the pipe-gripping and supporting mechanism and reorients it to its pipe receiving condition.

Travel of the carriage C back and forth along the base B may conveniently be effected by a pair of synchronized endless chain drives powered by a reversible hydraulic fluid motor 35. Such a driving mechanism is particularly suitable for this purpose because it can be 7 stopped almost instantly by stopping the flow of hydraulic fluid through the motor, and it possesses an inherent resistance to coasting, so that the carriage may be stopped at predetermined positions with a high degree of precision.

The carriage motor 85 may be connected by an endless chain 86 to drive a shaft 87 having its opposite ends journaled-in suitable bearings (not shown) at opposite sides of the base B. A pair of driving sprockets 88 (one being shown in FIG. 5) are mounted adjacent the opposite ends of the shaft 87 in driving engagement, respectively, with a pair of endless chains 89. Each of the chains 89 runs around three idler sprockets 91, 92, and 93 which are mounted on the base B on stub shafts 94, 95, and 96 that are suitably journaled in bearings mounted on the base B. The two sets of idler sprockets 91, 92, and 93 and the respectively associated driving sprockets 88 are arranged to define identical, laterally aligned, generally rectangular paths for the two chains 89, the configuration of which is shown in FIG. 5. The two chains 89 run along the inner sides of the carriage beams 21 and are respectively se cured thereto at points 97 thereon (FIG. 3) for pulling the carriage back and forth along its path of travel as determined by the direction of movement of the chains 89. Referring next to the apparatus for handling a pipe extrusion upon its arrival at Station No. 3, and referring particularly to FIGS. 3, 5, 6, and 10, the elevator E may comprise four inwardly opening channels connected at.

their ends to form a rigid rectangular frame 98 (FIG. 10) A pair of angles 99 may be secured in parallel relationship along opposite sides of the frame 98, and a number of parallel, closely spaced, conveyor rollers 101 may be rotatably mounted at their opposite ends on vertical flanges of the angles 99. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 10, the elevator may be supported for vertical movement up and down, as desired, by four arms 102 extending rigidly from the four corners of the frame 98 and attached to any suitable framework 122.

, 1 1 another pair of endless chains 163, two of the arms being attached to vertical reaches of .one chain 103, and the other two arms being similarly attached to corresponding vertical reaches of'the other chain 163..

The twoelevator chains 1il3are disposed to run in vertical planes adjacent opposite sides of the base B along identical, laterally aligned paths, each such path being defined by a set of six sprockets. These sprockets of each set include a driving sprocket 1115 and five idler sprockets 1%, 197, 108, 169, and 11% arranged as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. The idler sprockets may be mounted respectively on stub shafts 111, 112, 113,114, and 115 that are suitably journaled in bearings mounted on the base B.

The two driving sprockets 195 are mounted adjacent the ends of a common drive shat 116 that is suitably j urnaled at its ends in bearings mounted on the base B. As indicated in FIG. 3, the drive shaft 116 may constitute the output shaft of another reversible, hydraulic fluid motor 117 and may extend through the motor in opposite directions into its bearings on the base B. The motor 117 may be mounted on the base B in any desired manner.

As will be apparent from the drawings, rotation of the motor 117 and drive shaft 116 in one direction will move the elevator chains in the direction indicated by arrows in FIG. 6 and will lower the elevator E. Reverse rotation of the motor'117 and drive shaft will cause reverse movement of the elevator chains 163 and raise the elevator.

The elevator conveyor rollers 1131 are preferably powered to move a pallet and pipe carried thereon in the direction of Station No. 4. This may be facilitated by connecting the rollers H33 one to another sequentially in driving and driven relationship by a number of small endless chain drives 119, each connecting a pair of adjacent rollers for corresponding rotation, as will be well understood by those skilled in the art. The entire set of elevator rollers ltll may then be conveniently driven, intermittently as required, by means of another hydraulic fluid motor 12%. This motor may be mounted on one side of the elevator frame 98 and be connected in driving relation with the adjacent elevator roller 1111 by means of a small endless chain drive 121. V

The pallet feeding mechanism P may be constructed on a laterally projecting portion of the base B as shown in FIGS. 3, 5, and for feeding a pallet horizontally onto the elevator rollers N1 each time the elevator is posi tioned for this purpose at the level shown in 1 16. 10. The laterally projecting portion of the base B may be Any suitable box-like magazine structure 123 having an open top may be mounted on the framework 122 for holding and laterally restraining a stack of pallets 124, with the lowermost pallet resting on a pair of parallel tracks 126 extending toward and close to the elevator Eat the same level as the elevator rollers 1191 when the elevator is positioned as shown in FIGS. 5 and 10. Each pallet 124 may comprise a flat square board having a pair of parallel skids 127 secured to the bottom thereof, and the pallets are stacked in the framework 122 with the skids 127 running transversely relative to the tracks 126 and to the conveyor rollers 1151-. The box-like magazine structure 123 has an opening 128 in one side at the bottom thereof, the opening being of sufiicient height to permit only the lowermost pallet 124 to be pushed therethrough along the pallet for this purpose.

a ms of a reciprocatable carriage lfslfthat is supported by wheels 13S running on the tracks 126. The carriage 131 is thus adapted for reciprocation forwardly toward and rearwardly away from the elevator E. Upon forward movement of the carriage 131, the dogs 130 thereon engage the adjacent skid 127 of lowermost pallet 124 in the magazine 123, causing this pallet to move forward therewith along the tracks 125 through the opening 123 and onto the elevator E. To permit the dogs 139 to move into the elevator between pairs of elevator rolls 1111, the rolls involved must be appropriately spaced as shown in FIG. 3 with intervening portions of one roller supporting angle99 cut away to'provide passageways 99a therethrough in the paths of travel of the dogs.

The distance of travel of the carriage 131 in the forward direction may .be set by appropriately located microswitches, as hereinafter described, so that, at the end of its stroke, the pallet pushed thereby is disposed midway between the sides of the elevator in position for receiving a pipe from the main carriage C; 'Thereupon, the movement of the carriage 131 is reversed to return it to its original retracted position sbown in FIGS. 3 and 10. .Return movement requires that the dogs be depressed. in order that they may pass under the skids 127 of the lowermost pallet 12d remaining in the magazine 123. Therefore, the dogs 133 are ivoted so as to be cammed downwardly by the skids 127 against the action of any suitable springs 132, indicated diagrammatically in FIG. 10, and thesprings 132 serve to return the dogs to their raised position as they pass beyond each pallet skid. The carriage 131 and dogs 13% are shown in FIG. 3 at the end of their rearward travel, ready for forward travel to feed a pallet to the elevator E as described.

Movement of the carriage 131 may be effected by an endless chain 133 secured to the carriage by a bracket 134, the chain running around a pair of sprockets 136 and 137. The sprockets 136 and 137 are fixed to an idler shaft 138 and a driving shaft 139, respectively, which are rotatably journaled on the frame 122 ofthe pallet feeding mechanism (FIGS. 3 and 4). The chain 133 may be reversibly driven .by a suitable motor and speed reducing mechanism comprising a reversible hydraulic fluid motor 141, a chain drive 142 between the motor and a shaft 143, and a speed reducing, chain drive 144 between the shaft 143 and the drivin shaft 139 for the endless chain 133. The motor 141 and shaft 143 may be suitably located and mounted on the frame 122. Reversibility of the motor 1141 enables the carriage 131 to be reciprocated for feeding pallets 124 one after another onto the elevator E, as described above.

Each time a pallet 124 has been fed into pipe receiving position on the elevator E, the elevator is preferably dropped to its lowermost position which should be low enough to avoid any possible interference with the turning of a pipe during travel thereof toward or after its arrival at Station No. 3. The drop necessary for this purpose will depend upon the length of the longestpipe to behandled on the machine and, in this instance is limited by the elevation of the sprockets 107 and 110 of the elevator operating mechanism.

When a pipe has been delivered to Station No. 3 bell end uppermost in the manner described above, and while it is still held by the gripping and turning mechanism on the main carriage C, the elevator E is then raised to bring the pallet pro-positioned thereon into engagement with the lowermost, spi ot end of the pipe. Thereupon, the vacuum at the trays T is relieved and the trays are moved apart to permit the pipe to'rest on the pallet as shown in phantom outline in FIG. 5. Then the carriage C is moved along the base B back to its initial rest or idle position while actuating the piston and cylinder mechanism 79 to reorient the gripping and turning mechanism on the carriage C.'

At this time, the bell end of the pipe is finished, either by hand or by means of a suitable finishing head F. In the latter case, the finishing head F may be lowered into engagement with the pipe for performing its finishing function or, preferably, the elevator E is raised to bring the pipe into engagement with the finishing head for that purpose. When the finishing of the bell end of the pipe has been accomplished, by whatever procedure desired, the pipe is ready to be moved to the final receiving point, referred to herein as Station No. 4 and arbitrarily considered to be the position of a pipe and pallet shown in phantom outline in FIG. 5 resting upon the off-bearing conveyor G.

The off-bearing conveyor G may comprise a rigid rectangular frame 146 similar to the frame 98 of the elevator E but rigidly mounted in any suitable manner in a fixed position on or relative to the base B of the whole machine. A pair of angles 147 may be secured in parallel relationship along opposite sides of the frame 146, and a number of parallel, closely spaced conveyor rollers 148 may be rotatably mounted at their opposite ends on vertical flanges of the angles 146. These rollers 148 may be freely and independently rotatable, or they may be powered by a constantly or intermittently operated motor 149 mounted on the frame 146 for driving the rollers 148 in the same manner as the rolls 101 of the elevator E are driven. Obviously, the length of the conveyor G may be increased, if desired, to carry the finished pipe to a more remote receiving location. As shown, the rollers 148 provide a receiving platform onto which a pallet and its pipe may be fed from the elevator E for such further disposition as a particular plant arrangement may require. For this purpose, the elevator E will normally require raising or lowering from its bell finishing elevation at Station No. 3 to its discharge elevation in alignment with the off-bearing conveyor G, depicted in FIG. 5. The pallet adn its pipe may thus be moved uninterruptedly by the elevator rollers 101 onto the rollers 148 of the oflbearing conveyor G, designated Station No. 4, for further disposition.

As soon as a pallet and pipe carried thereby have been moved from the elevator E onto the off-bearing conveyor G, and while the elevator is still at the same elevation, the pallet feeding mechanism P is actuated to position another pallet on the elevator in position to receive the next pipe to be handled in the succeeding cycle of the machine. Preferably, the elevator is then lowered to its lowermost position, where it remains until the next pipe has been brought to Station No. 3 in the succeeding cycle. This completes one cycle of operation.

The succeeding cycle may overlap the first by starting the next extrusion as soon as the preceding one has been removed from the press, so as to have the next pipe waiting in its removal position on the press when the main carriage C is ready to be returned to the press. However, the relatively slow operation of the press, when extruding large diameter pipe, compared to speed of operation of the handling and finishing machine associated therewith, will generally require that the main carriage C be delayed for a time at its rest or idle position in the course of its travel from Station No. 3 back to Station No. 1. This leaves the entire pipe handling and finishing part of the machine in the condition in which it was assumed to be when the foregoing description of its cycle of operation was begun.

Having described the mechanical elements of the illustrative machine shown in the drawings and their functional relationship and mode of operation, an illustrative control system for the machine will now be described.

Referring now to FIG. 11, the main machine-controlling elements to be operated by the wiring circuit shown are a group of eleven solenoids 151-161, inclusive, for actuating valves respectively associated therewith for controlling the supply of compressed air, vacuum, or hydraulic fluid to the various powered mechanisms described above. Because of space limitations in the drawing, the relationship between the eleven solenoids and the valves controlled thereby is separately shown in FIG. 12.

The solenoid 151 actuates a four-way valve 171 for controlling the supply of compressed air to the pneumatically extensible and retractable trunnions 24 and 25 through the pairs of flexible hoses 74 and 75. As indicated diagrammatically in FIG. 12, this valve 171 includes passageways for normally connecting a compressed air conduit 162 from an air compressor 163 to hoses 74 for holding the trunnions 24 and 25 extended with the trays T in gripping engagement with a pipe extrusion, while venting the hoses 75. The valve 171 is actuatable when the solenoid 151 is energized to supply air to the hoses 75 while venting the hoses74 for retracting the trunnions 24 and 25 to move the trays T apart, and is spring biased toward its normal condition in which the trays T are gripping a pipe while the solenoid 151 is not energized.

The solenoid 152 actuates a three-way valve 172 for controlling the application of vacuum to the trays T through the flexible hose 72. This valve includes a passageway connecting a vacuum line 164 from a vacuum pump 165 to the flexible hose 72 for normal communication with the vacuum line 164. The valve 172 is actuatable when the solenoid 152 is energized to close the vacuum line 164 and connect the flexible hose 72 to atmosphere for relieving the vacuum at the trays, and is spring biased toward its normal vacuum applying condition. An adjustable vacuum relief valve 172a is connected to line 164 to admit air into this line when the degree of vacuum starts to exceed a safe maximum for which this valve may be set.

The solenoids 153 and 157 actuate a four-way valve 173 for reversibly supplying hydraulic fluid to one port of the reversible motor while exhausting it from the other port thereof, as required to drive the carriage C .forwardly in the direction from Station No. 1 toward Station No. 3 or rearwardly in the direction from Station No. 3 toward Station No. 1. This valve is connected to a pressure fluid distributing system 166d fed from an accumulator tank 167. The accumulator 167 may be supplied with fluid under pressure in a conventional manner, as needed, by a pump 168 from a reservoir 169. The valve 173 is normally spring biased to block the flow of fluid to or from the motor 85. It is actuatable in one direction by solenoid 153 to direct fluid from the distributing system 166d to the motor 85 through a first conduit to drive the carriage C forwardly while receiving fluid from the motor through a second conduit and directing it through a fluid return system 166;" to the reservoir 169; and it is actuatable in the opposite direction by the solenoid 157 to direct fluid from the distributing system 166d to the motor 85 through the second conduit to drive the carriage C rearwardly, while receiving fluid from the first conduit and directing it through the fluid return system 1661' to the reservoir 169.

The solenoid 154 actuates another four-way valve 174, like the valve 173, in one direction for controlling the flow of hydraulic fluid under pressure through the hose 83 to the piston and cylinder mechanism 79, while receiving fluid therefrom through the hose 82, to reorient the pipe-gripping and turning mechanism on the carriage C while it is moving empty from Station No. 3 back toward Station No. 1. The solenoid 155 actuates the same valve 174 in the opposite direction to reverse the flow through the hoses 82 and 83 for inverting a pipe held by the gripping and turning mechanism 79 while the carriage C is traveling forwardly from Station No. 2 to Station No. 3.

The solenoids 156 and 158 actuate another four-way valve 176, like the valve 173, for reversibly controlling the flow of hydraulic fluid under pressure to and from the motorv 117 for raising and lowering the elevator E. Fluid is supplied to this valve from the supply system 166 through one valve passage and is returned through another valve passage to the reservoir 169 via the return system 1661'.

i conduit r. Energizing the solenoid 156 actuates the valve in one direction to direct fluid from the distributing system 166d to the motor 117 to raise the elevator, while directing return fluid from the motor through the return system 1661' to the reservoir 169; and energizing the solenoid 158 actuates the valve in the opposite direction to direct fluid in the reverse manner from the distributing system 166d to the motor to lower the elevator, while rollers 143 is desired, the motor 149 may simply be connected in series with themotor 120 to the same valve 17?. Since only one-way operation of the motors 120 and 149 is required, only the one solenoid 159 is connected to the valve 179 for actuating it to direct fluid from the distributing system 166d in one direction to the motor or motors while directing return fluid from the motor or motors through the return system 166r to the reservoir 169. The valve 179 is normally spring biased to its closed position shown in FIG. 12.

The solenoids 160 and 161 actuate another four-way valve 131), like the valve 173, for reversibly controlling the flow of hydraulic fluid under pressure to and from the motor 141 for driving the pallet feeding mechanism.

Fluid is supplied to this valve from the distributing system 166d through one valve passage and is returned through another valve passage to the reservoir 169 via the return Energizing the solenoid 160 actuates the valve in one direction to direct fluid from the distributing system 166d to the motor 141to drive the palletpusher forward for feeding a pallet onto the elevator E, while directing return fluid from the motor through the return system'166r to the reservoir 169. Energizing the solenoid 161 actuates the valve in the opposite direction to directfluid in the reverse manner from the distributing system 166d to the motor, while directing fluid from the motor through the return system 166r to the reservoir 169, for retracting the pallet pusher.

Referring again to FIG. 11, electrical current may be supplied to the electrical circuit by a hot conductor 135 and a neutral conductor 186. Arnain power switch 187 may be interposed between the hot line 185 and the first pole 189 (serving manual control switches) of a double pole switch 188. A second switch 191 may be interposed between the switch 187 and the second pole 1% (serving automatic control switchesand relays) of the double pole switch 183 for cutting this second pole off from the hot line 185 independently of the first pole 189 when complete manual control of the operation of the machine is desired. 7

Each of thesolenoids 151 to161,linclusive, is connected'through a bus line 192 and an emergency switch 193 to the neutral line 186. Thus, opening of the emergency switch 193 disables all eleven of the solenoids 151- 161 and disables all of the parts of the machine controlled thereby. i

. Assuming that complete manual control of the operation of the machine is desired (e.g., while initially adjusting it to handle pipe of a given size), the cut-oil switch 191 is left open, but the main power switch 137, the emergency switch 193, and the double pole switch 188 are closed. Independent manual operation of all power actuated moving parts of the machine may then be effected by a series of ten manually operated switches 211 .and 213 to 221, inclusive. All of these ten manually operated switches are connected to the hot line throughthe pole 189 of the double pole switch 188'.

As will be apparent fIQm FIGS, 11 and 12, considered together in view of the foregoing description, closing of manually operated switch 211 energizes solenoid 151,

causing the pipe gripping mechanism to open; closing of manually operated switch 213 energizes solenoid 153 causing the main carriage C to move forwardly in the direction from the press toward Station No. 3; closing of manually operated switch 214 energizes solenoid 154, causing the pipe gripping mechanism to rotate from its pipe delivery condition to its pipe receiving position; closing of manually operated switch 215 energizes solenoid 155, causing the pipe gripping mechanism to rotate in th'e opposite direction; closing of manually operated switch 216 energizes solenoid 156, causing the elevator E to rise; closing of manually operated switch 217 energizes solenoid 157, causing the carriage to move rearwardly inthe direction from Station No. 3 toward the press; closing of manually operated switch 218 energizes solenoid 158, causing the elevator E to drop; closing of manually operated switch 219 energizes solenoid 159, causing the rolls 1M on the elevator E to rotate; closing of manually operated switch 220 energizes solenoid 1613, causing the pallet pusher to feed a pallet onto the elevator E; and closing of manually operated switch 221 energizes solenoid 161, causing the pallet pusher to retract.

No manually operated switch is supplied specifically for applying and cutting off the vacuum, 'no mechanical 219, inclusive, and a number of micro-switches and additional manually operated switches are connected into the electrical system and appropriately located on the machine. The relays 201-210 have one side of their respective energizing coils connected to a second bus line 194 leading directly to the neutral line 186 so that these relays are not disabled by opening of the emergency switch 193. The opposite side of each of the energizing coils of the ten relays 261410, respectively, is connected to the hot line .185 through one or more intermediate switches including the second pole 190 of the double pole switch 188 and the manually operated switch 191. Thus, the.

ten relays in the automatic control portion of the circuit may all be disabled by opening the cut-otf switch 1% without interfering with manual control of the machine by means of the manually operated switches 211 and 213- 221. Also, the eleven'solenoids 151-161 and all parts of the machine controlled thereby may be disabled by opening the emergency switch 193 while the automatic control portion of the circuit remains operable for such testing as may be required to locate any source of trouble in that part of the circuit. 7

Associated with the ten relays 2tl1-210 are a number of micro-switches and additional manually operated switches as noted above. In view of the fact that the micro-switch actuating means are, in most instances, only small scale bosses or projections appropriately located on the machine in accordance with well understoood practices in the art, most of these actuating means have not been shown in the drawings in the interest of simplicity. However the micro-switches themselves are diagrammatically shown in convenient locations on the machine for being actuated as hereinafter described by any suitably positioned actuating means. The positions of the microswitches and/or the positions of their actuating means should generally be adjustable for adjusting the timing of the operations controlled thereby or for adjusting the amount of movement of a part of the machine to suit different sizes of pipe being handled thereon.

19 projection (not shown) on the carriage C when it has moved part of the way back toward the press to an arbitrarily selected rest or idle position. The function of this switch is to' disable relay 206 and thereby deenergize solenoid 157, stopping the carriage at itsrest or idle position.

Another micro-switch 242 may also be located on the base B between Station No. 3 and the rest position of the carriage C (FIG. for engagement and actuation by any suitable projection (not shown) on the carriage C while it is en route from Station No. 3 to its rest or idle position. The function of this switch 242 is to provide a momentary current for resetting relay 295, which energizes solenoid 1 56, causing the elevator again to rise for raising the pipe thereon into engagement with the finishing head F, if such a finishing head is to be used. In this case, another normally closed micro-switch 243 on the baseB (FIG. 5) may be engaged and momentarily opened by the elevatorframe 98 or by any suitable projection (not shown) thereon as the elevator rises. The height of the micro-switch 243, like that of the microswitch 238, is preferably made "adjustable so that it may be set for different lengths of pipe. The function of this switch 243 is again to disable relay 295, thereby deenergizing solenoid 156 and stopping the elevator E at the proper elevation forfinishing the belled end of the pipe by means of the finishinghead F.

' If hand finishing of the belled end of the pipe is to be performed at Station No. 3, micro'switches 242 and 243 and the/conductors connecting them into the circuit may be omitted entirely. In this case, a manually operated push-buttonswitch 24 (FIG. 11 only) may be conveniently located for setting relay 207 when thesecond finishing operation has'been completed. This closes a circuit to solenoid 158, energizing the'same and starting the elevator E downwardly. I

If a finishing head F is employed, it may also be controlled automatically and its operation initiated in response to raising of the pipe on the elevator 'into engagement with this finishing head. In this czisegmanually operated switch 244 may be replaced by a micro-switch disposed for momentary actuation in any desired manner in response to completion of the operation of the finishing head F forsetting relay 207, energizing solenoid 153, and starting the elevator down. g

' A micro-switch 245cm the base B (FIG. 5) may be positioned to be engaged by the elevator frame 980: by any suitable fixed projection (not shown) thereon for momentary tripping as the elevator reaches its pipe .discharging position shown in the drawings. The function of this switch 245 is to disable relay 237 and momentarily close a circuit running through relay 210 to the energizing coil of relay 268. for setting relay 208. Trip-. ping switch 245 also closes a circuit to a micro-switch 246 for the purpose described below. Disabling relay 207deenergizes solenoid 158, which stops the elevator at its pipe discharging position, and the simultaneous. setting of relay 208 energizes solenoid 159, starting the.

elevator rolls 101 to turn for dischargingthe finished pipe on its pallet from the elevator E to the elf-bearing conveyor G.

A- micro-switch 24d. mounted on the base B may be 7 positioned'be'tween the adjacent rollers of the'elev'ator E energizes solenoid 159, stopping the elevator rolls. The disabling of relay 208 completes a circuit through this relay and through relay 269 (still set) to solenoid 166 to energize it and actuate the pallet feeder to push another pallet onto the elevator into position for receiving the next pipe.

The normally closed micro-switch 247 is mounted on the pallet feeder frame 122 (FIG. 10) and may be located switch 247 governs the length of the forward stroke of the pallet pusher and may be fixed so that each pallet will be pushed to the center of the elevator E.

On its return or retracting stroke, the palletpushing carriage 131 strikes the normally closed micro-switch 248, which is mounted on the pallet feeder frame 122 (FIG. 10). The function of this switch, when tripped, is to open the circuit through relay 210 to solenoid 161, thus de-energizing solenoid 161 and stopping the pallet pusher in its fully retracted position.

At this point, relays 201 and 210 are still set. Another micro-switch 249 is also located on the frame 122 of the pallet feeder (FIG. 10) for engagement and momentary closing by the carriage 131 on its return stroke or by any suitable projection (not shown) thereon for resetting relay 207, energizing solenoid 158, and dropping the elevator E to its lowermost position with an empty pallet thereon ready to receive the next pipe extrusion delivered by the carriage C.

At the bottom of its stroke, the elevator E trips a micro-switch 259 (FIG. 5) and holds it in its tripped position. This opens the circuits to the energizing coils of relays 207 and 210, thus disabling both of these relays and completing one cycle of operation of the machine. Relay 291 remains open so that the next cycle Will start automatically when the scale rod descends with a new pipe extrusion and trips micro-switch 239.

To protect the machine in the event of failure of the pallet feeder to feed a pallet onto the elevator E, which would occur if the pallet magazine 123 were empty, a micro-switch 251 islocated on the pallet feeder frame 122 to be held closed by the lowermost pallet in the magazine (FIG. 10). If the pallet supply in the magazine should be exhausted, micro-switch 251 will remain open, interrupting the circuit to solenoid 153 so that the carriage C cannot be moved in the direction from the press toward Station No. 3. Also, if elevator. E has not dropped after discharging a pipe and receiving another pallet, microswitch 259 will not be tripped to close the circuit through relay 204 (when set by micro-switch 236) leading to soleand the off-bearing conveyor G (FIGJS) for actuation by nected to the hot line.

. .70 coil through a normally closed m cro-switch 247 connoid-153 for moving the carriage C forwardly from Station No. 2 to Station No. 3. In the event the trays T are not conforming to a pipe in the removal position on the press sufficiently closely for the vacuum to be effective for gripping a pipe, this may be detected at once by a vacuum gage (not shown) connected into the vacuum hose 72 at any desired point. In this case, the press operator will not open valve 1'7 (FIG. 2) for dropping the scale rod to withdraw the former 2, and all further operation will be suspended until the necessary pipe holding vacuum has been achieved, as indicated by the vacuum gage.

In the event it is desired for any reason to delay movement of the, carriage C from its rest or idle position to When switch 246 is released and returned to its original position shownin FIGVII, relay 21t9 is set (through relay 209); This disables relay 208 and thereby de- Station No. 1 for gripping a pipe, micro-switch 238 for initiating such movement may be disabled by opening av 21 11 only) may be connected in parallel with the two series connected switches 23% and 253. Holding this switch 254 closed will initiate and maintain rearward movement of the carriage C toward the press until relay 2% is disabled by the opening of micro-switch 231 when the carriage arrives at Station No. 1.

The use of micro-switches for the purposes disclosed above conforms to well established practices in the electrical art. The types of switches suitable for momentary interruption of a circuit for prolonged interruption of a circuit, for momentarily breaking one contact to interrupt one circuit while momentarily making another contact to close a different circuit, etc, are so well known as to require no distinguishing illustration in the drawing or detailed description herein. Therefore, for simplicity, all of the micro-switches in the circuits described above are merely shown diagranunatically in the drawing in their approximate locations, as mentioned above.

From the foregoing detailed description of the invention, it will be apparent that a machine has been provided for accomplishing the various objectives of the invention eficiently and reliably. However, it is to be understood that the particular mechanical details shown and described are merely illustrative of a presently preferred form of the machine. Similarly, many different electrical systems may be employed for efiecting automatic or semiautomatic operation of the machine, and the particular system just described is merely illustrative of one such system. Therefore, the invention is not limited-to such details except as required by the terms of the appended claims.

Having described our invention, we claim:

1. In combination with a vertical clay pipe extrusion press for extruding green clay pipe axially and vertically downwardly to a removal location at a predetermined elevation and a former and scale rod disposed below the press in cooperating relationship therewith for supporting the pipe and moving axially downwardly therewith during its extrusion, a machine for moving the pipe horizontally from the press to one station and then to a second station at predetermined locations spaced from said removal location along a horizontal path at said predetermined elevation, said machine comprising an elongated base having one end disposed adjacent said removal location, a carriage mounted for travel on the base horizontally along said path, reversibly contractible gripping means on said carriage operable for embracing and gripping a pipe extrusion to support the same at said removal location and predetermined elevation when the carriage is at said one end of its path, said gripping means being mounted on said carriage for rotation about a horizontal axis carried thereby for inverting the pipe, power means for moving said carriage and a pipe extrusion carried thereby intermittently along said path from said removal location to the one and thensto the second of said stations and finally moving said carriage back along said path to said removal location, means responsive to travel of said carriage from said one station to the second station for rotating said gripping means through 180 to invert a pipe gripped thereby, means. for operating said gripping means to contract it about a pipe extrusion at said removal location and to retract it at said second station to deposit the pipe extrusion on a pallet while the pipe is still at said predetermined elevation, and means associated with said scale rod to lower the same and disengage the former from the extruded pipe whileit is supported in feeding pallets one after another onto." said support in timed relationship to the movement of the carriage, and" second powermeans'operable to raise said support to engage a pallet thereon with the lower end of a pipe 22 extrusion carried by the carriage for supporting the pipe when released from the carriage and to subsequently retract the support, said support including conveyor means operable to move a pallet and a pipe extrusion thereon.

horizontally off of the support to a finished extrusion receiving location.

3. The combination of claim 1 including a vertically movable pallet support at said second station, said support normally being in a retracted condition, means for feeding pallets one after another onto said support in timed rela- 'tionship to the movement of the carriage, and second power means operable toraise said support to engage a pallet thereon with the lower end of a pipe extrusion carried by the carriage for supporting the pipe when released from the carriage and to subsequently retract the support, said support including conveyor means operable .to move a pallet and a pipe extrusion thereon horizontally off of the support to a finished extrusion receivin location, and automatic control means for operating said second power means to raise and retract the support in timed relationship to movement of the carriage along its path of travel.

4. A machine for handling green clay pipe and the like, comprising a horizontally elongated base, a carriage mounted for travel along a horizontal path defined by said base between a pipe receiving location adjacent one end thereof and a pipe discharging location adjacent the other end thereof, a plurality of grips having generally cylindrical surfaces for embracing a length of pipe to support the same, said grips being mounted on opposite sides of a frame for movement inwardly and outwardly relative thereto and radially inwardly and outwardly relative to a length of pipe therebetween for gripping and releasing the pipe, and said frame being mounted on said carriage and connected to the grips for corresponding rotation with the grips about an axis passing through the grips normal to the axis of a length of pipe embraced by the grips, means operative for actuating said grips inwardly and outwardly, means operative for rotating said frame and grips together about their axis of rotation from a receivmg position to a discharging position, and means operative v to move said carriage from location to location along said path between said receiving location and said discharging 6; A machine according to claim 4 in which the platform of said elevator comprises a horizontally running conveyor mechanism, means operativeto feed pallets intermittently onto said conveyor mechanism in position for supporting a length of pipe at said discharging loca tron, and means operative for driving said conveyor mechanism intermittently to discharge-a pallet and a length of pipe supported thereby from the elevator platform,

7. A machine for extruding belled clay pipe and hant dling it during'finishing operations, comprising in combinationria clay press for extruding the pipe vertically downwardly and belled end foremost, including means for axially lowering the pipe clear of the press to a removal location, a base defining an elongated horizontal path, a carriage mounted on said base for travel along said path. between said removal location and a remote pipe discharging location, a plurality of grips having opposed generally cylindrical surfaces normally oriented for embracing an axially vertical length of pipe to support the same, said grips being mounted on opposite sidesjof a frame for horizontal movement inwardly and outwardly toward and away from each other fun coaxially'gripping and releasing. a length of pipe, and said frame being 7 mounted on said carriage and connected to the grips for corresponding rotation'with said grips about a horizontal axis transverseto said path for inverting said grips and a pipe carried thereby, means operative for actuating said grips toward and away from each other, power means independently operative. for rotating said frame and grips 180 between their normal oriented position and an inverted position, and means independently operative to move said carriage back and forth from one'predeten' mined location to. another along said path between said receivingand discharging locations, a platform elevator normally in a retracted condition below said discharging location, and means for raising and lowering said elevator between its normal retracted condition and a raised condition for supporting pipe carried by, said grips to said discharging location.

8. A machine according to claim 7, including power means responsive to movement of said carriage to said discharging location for moving said platform elevator from its retracted conditionto sm'd raised condition.

9. A machine according to claim 7, including power means for moving said platform elevator, control means responsive to movement of said carriage to said discharging location forlenergizing said power means to move said platform elevator to said raised condition, and additional control means independently operable for energizing said power means to lower said elevator from said raised condition.

10. A pipe handling and finishing machine comprising a base defining an elongated horizontal path, a carriage mounted for movement along said path from a pipe receiving location to a pipe discharging location, an idle carriage location at a point on said path adjacent but spaced from said receiving location, and a pipe processing lopation at a point on said .path between said receiving location and said discharging location, a pair of grips mounted ona frame for movement toward and away from each other for releasably embracing and supporting a pipe, about its periphery, and said frame being mounted on said carriage for rotation with said grips about a horizontal axis'nor-mal to the axis of a pipe embraced by said grips, and a platform elevator normally in a retracted condition below said discharging location; first power means operative to move said grips toward and away from each other, second power means independently operative to rotate said frame between a pipe receiving orientation of said grips and a pipe discharging orientation of said grips, third power means independently operative to move said carriage in either direction along said path, and fourth power means for raising and lowering said elevator between said normally retracted condition and a raised condition for supporting a pipe carried by said g'ripsto said discharging location, control means for each power means for automatically energizing the same in timed relationship for actuating said grips to embrace a pipe at said receiving location, moving the carriage to translate the pipe to saidprocessing location, moving the carriage and rotating said frame to invert and position the pipe at said discharging location, raising said elevator to its pipe supporting condition, actuating said grips to deposit the pipe on said platform elevator, andmoving the, carriage back toward said idlelocation.

11. In combination witlra vertical clay pipe extrusion press for extrudinglbelled green clay pipe axially, verticallydownwardly, and belled end down, to a removal location at a predetermined elevation and 'a'forn'ier' and scale roddisposed below the press; in cooperating relationship therewith for supporting the pipe and moving axially downwardly therewith during its extrusion, with 'the former extending into the bell of thepipe, a machine for movingthel pipe from the press to; one station and thento. a second stationat predetermined locations spaced from said-removal location along a horizontal path at said predetermined elevation, said machineicomp rising an elongated base having one end disposedadjacent said re- 2d moval location, a carriage mounted for travel along said path, reversibly contractible ripping means on said carriage operable for embracing and gripping a pipe extrusion at said removal location when the carriage is at said one end of its path, said gripping means being rotatably mounted on said carriage for inverting a pipe extrusion,

powen means for movingsaid carriage and a pipe extrusion carried thereby intermittently along said path from said removal location to the one and when then to the second of said stations and finally moving said carriage back to said removal location, means responsiveto travel of said carriage from said one station to the second station for rotating said gripping means through 180 to invert a pipe gripped thereby and responsive to travel of said carriage in the reverse direction along said path for rotating the gripping means to reorient it for embracing another pipe extrusion at said removal location, means for operating said gripping means to contract it about a like, comprising a horizontally elongated base, a pair of spaced, horizontal, parallel tracks supported by said base, a pair of trucks respectively mounted for horizontal travel along said tracks between a pipe receiving location and a pipe discharging location, a pair of grips having generally cylindrical opposed surfaces normally oriented for em bracing an axially vertical length of pipe to support the same, said grips being respectively mounted on said trucks for horizontal movement inwardly and outwardly thereon toward and away from each other along a common horizontal axis transverse to said path for circuniferentially gripping and releasing a length of pipe and for rotation about said common horizontal axis'transversely to said path for reorienting said grips to invert a pipe embraced 13. A machine according to claim 12 including vacu um means connected to said grips for holding a pipe thereto by suction, whereby the weight of a pipe embraced by the grips may be carried without radial pressure of the grips against the pipe from opposite sides thereof.

14. A machine according to claim- 12 in which the.

generally'cylindrical, opposed, pipe engaging surfaces of said grips are formed by layers'ofelastically resilient open cell sponge material capable of conforming to the cylindrical contour of a pipe with only light radial pressure, the cells adjacent exposed surface portions of said sponge material about said pipe engaging surfaces thereof.

eing an impervious rind to prevent passage of air therethrough, and means for applying suction'to the pores of said material to create a vacuum between said cylindrical surfaces thereof and a pipe embraced thereby for holding the pipe between the trays.

15. The combination of claim 12 including a vertically movable pallet-support below said pipe discharging loca-- tron, means for feeding pallets one after another onto.

said support in timed relationship to the movement of said trucks, and power means'operable to raise said'support to engage a pallet thereon with the lower end of a pipe carried bytsaid grips for supporting the pipe when released by movement of the grips away from each other,

16. A machine for handling clay pipe'or the like comprising a pair of spaced, horizontal, parallel tracks that define an elongated horizontal path between a pipemovement together therealong, a pair of grips respectively I mounted on said trucks for movement toward and away from a pipe disposed therebetween for embracing and releasing the pipe, said grips being rotatable relative to said trucks about a common horizontal axis through the grips and normal to said path, and means rigidly connecting and bridging said trucks and grips about one side only of the grips, said means being connected to the grips for restraining them to rotate together about their common axis of rotation While permitting movement thereof toward and away from each other for embracing and releasing a pipe, whereby said trucks may travel in one direction to move said grips horizontally into straddling relationship with a pipe to be embraced at said receiving location and, after 180 rotation of said frame and grips and of a pipe so embraced thereby and after release of the pipe with said trucks moved to said discharge location, the trucks may travel back toward said receiving location to move said grips horizontally away from the pipe without interference.

17. A machine for handling green clay pipe and the like, comprising an elongated base structure providing a pair of spaced, horizontal, parallel tracks defining a horizontal path, a pair of trucks respectively mounted on said tracks for travel together thereon back and forth along said path between a pipe receiving location adjacent one end thereof and a pipe discharging location adjacent the other end thereof, a pair of pipe gripping trays respectively mounted on said trucks therebetween for reversible inward and outward collinear movement 26 to embrace a length of pipe for supporting the same during travel of the trucks and trays together along said path and for releasing the same adjacent the pipe discharging location, said trays being mounted on said trucks for rotation about a common axis, said axis passing through the trays and through the axis of a pipe embraced thereby in a direction normal to the axis of the pipe and normal to said path of travel, and a generally C-shaped frame bridging said trays on one side only thereof and constraining them for rotation together about said common axis, whereby said frame and trays may be rotated together to orient them for movement into straddling relationship with a pipe to be received at said pipe receiving station and to reorient the frame and trays to permit them to release a pipe adjacent the discharging station and move back toward the receiving station without interference between the pipe and said C-shaped frame.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,382,994 Lott June 28, 1921 1,486,877 Gang Mar. 18, 1924 1,926,041 Freese Sept. 12, 1933 1,959,512 Wall et a1 May 22, 1934 1,978,420 Dyer Oct. 30, 1934 2,032,523 Black et al Mar. 3, 1936 2,451,713 Brown et a1 Oct. 19, 1948 2,716,265 Webb Aug. 30, 1955 2,795,027 Rossier June 11, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 150,890 Sweden July 26, 1955 

7. A MACHINE FOR EXTRUDING BELLED CLAY PIPE AND HANDLING IT DURING FINISHING OPERATIONS, COMPRISING IN COMBINATION: A CLAY PRESS FOR EXTRUDING THE PIPE VERTICALLY DOWNWARDLY AND BELLED END FOREMOST, INCLUDING MEANS FOR AXIALLY LOWERING THE PIPE CLEAR OF THE PRESS TO A REMOVAL LOCATION, A BASE DEFINING AN ELONGATED HORIZONTAL PATH, A CARRIAGE MOUNTED ON SAID BASE FOR TRAVEL ALONG SAID PATH BETWEEN SAID REMOVAL LOCATION AND A REMOTE PIPE DISCHARGING LOCATION, A PLURALITY OF GRIPS HAVING OPPOSED GENERALLY CYLINDRICAL SURFACES NORMALLY ORIENTED FOR EMBRACING AN AXIALLY VERTICAL LENGTH OF PIPE TO SUPPORT THE SAME, SAID GRIPS BEING MOUNTED ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF A FRAME FOR HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT INWARDLY AND OUTWARDLY TOWARD AND AWAY FROM EACH OTHER FOR COAXIALLY GRIPPING AND RELEASING A LENGTH OF PIPE, AND SAID FRAME BEING MOUNTED ON SAID CARRIAGE AND CONNECTED TO THE GRIPS FOR CORRESPONDING ROTATION WITH SAID GRIPS ABOUT A HORIZONTAL AXIS TRANSVERSE TO SAID PATH FOR INVERTING SAID GRIPS AND A PIPE CARRIED THEREBY, MEANS OPERATIVE FOR ACTUATING SAID 